The Israeli military has tweeted a doctored picture of the Houses of Parliament under assault from a barrage of rockets and asking: “What if they were attacking your home?”

The photo-shopped image, which was published today on the official Twitter feed of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), showed four rockets flying north over the Thames and about to crash into the Palace of Westminster.

An explosion can be seen erupting from the roof of the building, while a large capitalised slogan reads: “What would you do?”

The striking image appears to be in response to critics of Israel’s current ground assault on the Palestinian Gaza Strip. Israeli leaders say the operation is designed to stop Hamas rocket fire from the territory, but there have been accusations that its military chiefs are using disproportionate levels of force.

The death toll in the two-week conflict today reached 500. The vast majority of the casualties have been Palestinians, while scores of children have also been killed. Israeli officials say 18 soldiers have been killed along with two civilians.

Andy Slaughter, a Labour MP and secretary of Britain-Palestine All-Party Parliamentary Group, said: "It seems crass at best. The Israelis are past masters at propaganda. This will bring it home to Members that they have lost all sense of perspective and are out of control."

"It is in very poor taste and I think that it will be entirely counterproductive."

James Clappison MP, the Parliamentary Chairman of Conservative Friends of Israel, supported the advert.

“For a long time rockets have been fired into Israel and that hasn’t been reported. We would not permit rockets to be fired at our country. We would take action."

He added he wanted to see an end to the bloodshed but added: “This is Hamas’ choice. The ball is in their court.”

An IDF spokesman told The Telegraph the picture had been devised by the military’s “interactive media branch” to convey the reality of life under Hamas rocket fire to a worldwide audience.

“It’s an iconic image. When people look at the image they realise what country we’re talking about,” said Captain Eytan Buchman. “If a rocket landed near Westminster, it’s not a reality that any country could tolerate.”

He added the photo was designed to address claims IDF generals were guilty of deploying disproportionate levels of force, and accused Hamas of deliberately putting civilians in harm’s way.

“The claims of disproportionality stem from the fact that our enemies are exploiting human shields.”

However the IDF’s controversial PR tactic was derided by some. Replying directly to the IDF photo, one Twitter user said: “Oh my. You're really getting desperate aren't you? This would be funny if it weren't pitiful.”

The death toll in the two-week conflict today reached 501. The vast majority of the casualties have been Palestinians, while scores of children have also been killed.

Israeli officials say 18 soldiers have been killed along with two civilians.